Police: Teen charged in family massacre planned more

Jan. 22, 2013
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A Bernalillo County sheriff's deputy blocks the dirt road that leads to a home where detectives on Sunday were investigating the deaths of five people who were shot to death south of Albuquerque, N.M. / Susan Montoya Bryan, AP

In the document, the teen, identified as Nehemiah Griego, reportedly told the Bernalillo County deputy who arrested him that he had "anger issues," was "annoyed" with his mother and had been "having homicidal and suicidal thoughts."

The victims were identified as Greg Griego, 51, who had been a pastor at the Metropolitan Detention Center; his wife, Sarah Griego, 40, who home-schooled their children; Zephania Griego, 9; Jael Griego, 5; and Angelina Griego, 2. The couple had 10 children, but only four were home in rural South Valley, just outside Albuquerque.

The probable-cause statement describes how the teen says he shot his mother, brother and two sisters in the head with a .22-caliber rifle after midnight Saturday, then waited in a downstairs bathroom before ambushing his father with an AR-15 military-style rifle when he came home about 5 a.m.

He then says he reloaded the semiautomatic weapon - the type used in the December massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School - and put the both rifles in the family van so "he could drive to a populated area" and shoot people randomly. The Albuquerque Journal reported Monday that he planned to go to the local Walmart.

Instead, the newspaper says, the teenager called a friend who talked him into meeting at Calvary Chapel, where his father had been pastor. A church security guard later called 911.

Authorities said that each victim suffered more than one gunshot wound, and that several guns were found at the scene. The teen reportedly said he retrieved the .22, the AR-15 and two shotguns from his parents' closet. Investigators were trying to determine who owned the guns.

"I've never seen a scene quite like this," Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston said Sunday.

The teen reportedly had had a minor, unspecified disagreement with his mother Friday. The police statement said he first shot his mother after midnight Saturday as she and his brother slept in the same bed.

Griego told the detective that his brother woke up and did not believe that their mother was dead. He then "picked up his mother's head to show his brother her bloody face," according to the statement. When his brother became "upset," the teen shot him.

The statement says Griego then "lost his sense of conscience," went to his sisters' bedroom and shot them as they cried.

After killing his father, the teen loaded up a van with an AR-15 rifle and a shotgun with the intention of driving to a Walmart for more killings.

Instead, he heeded a friend's advice and went to the church. He eventually reported the killings to a security guard, who called police after returning to the house with the teenager.

Griego initially told authorities that when he returned home Saturday about 5:30 a.m. he discovered his father's "carcass" and the other family members shot dead. He then drove to his church and told his girlfriend that his parents and siblings had died in a car crash.

A sheriff's spokesman told the Associated Press on Monday that he couldn't immediately comment on the document.

KRQE-TV reported that the suspect was known as a quiet teenager who always wore camouflage gear in walks through the neighborhood.

News 13 said the teen's online dating profile shows him in military fatigues, with a self-description: "I'm a fun loving guy who [likes] to make [people] happy. I might be shy but I'll open up once you get to know me."

Word of the shootings traveled quickly through the law enforcement community, and officials offered their condolences for Greg Griego, a spiritual leader known for his work with firefighters and the 13 years he spent as a volunteer chaplain at the county jail.

"Chaplin Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community," Fire Chief James Breen said in a statement. "His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed."

Jail Chief Ramon Rustin said Griego was instrumental in the creation of the Metropolitan Detention Center's chaplain program and worked to get inmates integrated back into the community.

Griego is the brother of former state senator Eric Griego.

The Griego family, KOB-TV reported, released the following statement: "Our family is grieving this terrible tragedy. We appreciate the prayers and support we have received and request that the media honor our family's privacy during this difficult time."

The killings came three days after President Obama presented a sweeping gun-control package that marks the most comprehensive effort to tighten gun laws in the USA in nearly two decades. Obama's package was triggered by last month's school shooting in Connecticut, where a gunman with a legally purchased high-powered rifle left 20 young children and six adults dead.

Sunday, a police roadblock cut off public access to the narrow dirt road that leads to the Griego home, which is surrounded by trees and an agricultural field on one side.

Neighbors said they saw the first police cars and ambulances arrive at the home Saturday night. The road was blocked, and word of the shootings began to make its way through the neighborhood.

Peter Gomez, 54, a carpenter who lives about 200 yards from the home, said he had seen the family - a husband and wife and their four children - pass by many times but didn't know them personally.

"It's a horrible thing," Gomez said. "You see all this stuff that happens all over the country, the shootings in the schools and theaters, and then it happens right here. It's sad."

Contributing: Michael Winter, the Associated Press

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